New Age, Alternative,
Metaphysical Publication
Aquarius-Atlanta.com

Rev. Dr. Barbara L. King And the Essence of New Thought

By Donna M. Jones

Dr. Barbara King is the dynamic leader of Hillside Chapel and Truth Center, a New Thought congregation of over 10,000 members with a twelve acre complex in Southwest Atlanta, Georgia. Hillside's outreach program is international in scope, and Dr. Barbara King's televised sermons have a large following in the Atlanta area. Our interview took place earlier this year.

Donna Jones: Let me begin by asking how would you like to be addressed? I've heard people address you as “Dr. Barbara.”

Rev. Barbara King: They call me “Dr. Barbara.” Now they are calling me “Nana”, which is the name I was given when I became the first female to be enstooled as a Chief at Assin Nsuta, Ghana, West Africa. My full name is “Nana Yaa Twumwaa I“. “Nana” means “chief”. “Yaa” means “Thursday” for the day I was born and “Twumwaa I” is related to the name of Yaa Asantawaa, who is a spiritual sister to Nana and a national hero to the Ashanti people of Ghana. As Nana, I sit on a council of chiefs. We will have an affiliate there. A new secondary school is being built there in my name because I was selected as chief. We've contributed funds to help build it. I am proud to represent an area in Africa that encompasses the well-preserved Slave Route Site, the Slave River (Ndonkonsu), and the slave cemetery. Formerly known as the “Gold Coast”, this historical region is visited by several thousand tourists annually.

Donna: What is the difference between “Unity” and “New Thought?”

Barbara: New Thought is the umbrella organization for Unity, Religious Science, Divine Science and Independent Truth Centers around the world. We also belong to an organization called the International New Thought Alliance. We all teach the same principles although our terminology sometimes differs. We say “prayer” and believe in Jesus the Christ. We believe that Jesus the man became the Christ and that we are in Christ's image because Christ represents your perfect self, your divine nature. That is what we talk about as “Christ consciousness.” Jesus was a man who made his discovery and we are making our discovery as to who we are in Christ. “Christ” comes from a Greek word that means anointed, chosen one and messiah. Jesus was distinguished because he was “the Christ” who teaches us that we can be Christ-like if we would just pursue and understand our relationship with God. Religious Science teaches the same thing but they use the word “treatment” instead of “prayer.” They believe that you're “treating” the mind which is why it's called Science of Mind.